Robert Heron Bork

Bork, Robert Heron, 1927–2012, American jurist, b. Pittsburgh. He received his law degree from the Univ. of Chicago in 1953, and was professor of law at Yale (1962–73, 1977–81). While serving as U.S. solicitor general (1973–77), he played a key role in the Watergate affair. He was later a judge on the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (1982–88). In 1987, President Ronald Reagan nominated Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court. An outspoken conservative, Bork was widely criticized for his apparent opposition to advancement in civil liberties, his strongly conservative political and cultural views, and his narrow view of the Constitution. After acrimonious confirmation hearings, he was ultimately rejected by the Senate. Bork resigned from the federal court in Feb., 1988, and became a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. His books include The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law (1989) and Slouching toward Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline (1996).